SMS fraud has increased significantly in recent months. Now there is a new scam that lures with alleged gifts.
The scam with the alleged package announcements via SMS is certainly still remembered by many. Scammers used this type of message to try and get hold of user data for weeks. Now they have come up with something new. Again by SMS they lure with alleged gifts. What is behind the scam?
Gift SMS easily exposed as a scam
First of all, there is also something positive. The new SMS spam is pretty easy to identify as a scam because it is written in very bad German and the wording seems a bit confused. Only a few recipients will feel directly addressed here. The message is as follows:
A purchased gift is ready for collection. If you don’t get suspicious here, you will notice the link that refers to DuckDNS. This is a dynamic DNS service that can be used to create various custom domains free of charge. The fraudsters can set up websites that are intended to deceive users with little effort and at no cost. Here they usually ask for personal data such as e-mail addresses, telephone numbers or date of birth. Later, these records are then sold or used for further scams.
It is mostly unclear to many how the sender of the message, in the case of the gift SMS, got their own telephone number in the first place. Here, too, it is often data records that have been hacked and sold at some point.
Also Read: Are You Getting These Weird Package Notifications via SMS?
What to do about these scam SMS?
If the fraudulent messages are as clumsy as the gift SMS, you rarely run the risk of clicking on the link. They’re still annoying, especially since fraudulent SMS messages like this usually end up on the smartphone again and again. It usually doesn’t help to block the sender’s number either, since they usually circulate their messages via constantly changing cell phone numbers.
However, we recommend marking the gift SMS or other messages of this type as spam and blocking the sender. Under no circumstances should you click on links whose sender and destination you do not know exactly. In an emergency, they can even be used to load malicious software onto the cell phone. If necessary, also warn friends and family about the current scam so that nobody falls for it.